VoCA recommends JAAKKO PERNU at Tatar Gallery in Toronto from January 25 to March 31.

The Light Keeper, 1997. Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

This Finnish artist makes sculptures from willow branches. Although his pieces have a formal quality, his inspiration comes from the history of wood craft in Finland.

Alapuolella maa - The ground beneath, 1996-99. Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

There is a kind of folkloric, magical quality to his work.

Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

The exhibition is curated by William Huffman.

Forcing nature into “unnatural” shapes is nothing new –– the practice of topiary has been traced to the Ancient Romans. Physical forcing can be seen as related to society’s development, through the growth of agriculture and the laying of urban foundations. Interestingly, it is also reflective of ideological devlopment (the development of belief systems.)

This is something that the excellent Montreal-based photographer ISABELLE HAYEUR deals with in her work. Check out her work HERE.

For instance, in the history of art, the invention of the Camera Obscura

A Camera Obscura. Image: anderson.edu

allowed Man to dominate Nature by copying his surroundings precisely through the use of a grid technique, in a perfect imitation of perspective:

A woodcut by Albrecht Durer, 1525 demonstrating how to capture perspective. Image: Stanford.edu

Man’s dominance of Nature initiated his eventual loss of respect for Nature.

The fact that contemporary artists work with nature and traditional crafting of material draws attention to all of these ideas, and gives what they do a valuable message.

What is contemporary art for, if not to make us aware of the meaning of our existence?

This is Pernu’s process:

Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

Image: Arthouse.oulu.net

If you like this work, you might also like these Canadian artists:

-PETER VON TIESENHAUSEN:

Image: Tiesenhausen.net

whose work is available at Trepanier Baer Gallery, Calgary, Clint Roenisch Gallery, Toronto, James Baird, in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland and others:

Image: Tiesenhausen.net

-LIZ MAGOR who is represented by Susan Hobbs Gallery in Toronto:

A work by Liz Magor Image: Artnet.com

-SARAH STEVENSON:

Untitled (Swag), 1999. Image: galeriereneblouin.com

She shows with Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto and Galerie Rene Blouin in Montreal:

Bud Image: ccca.ca

-ROLAND POULIN, who shows with Olga Korper Gallery in Toronto:

A work by Roland Poulin Image: ccca.ca

International artists of note:

-ANDY GOLDSWORTHY, a Scotland-based artist whose work is available through Haines Gallery in San Francisco.

VoCA recommends the excellent documentary on the artist, Rivers and Tides.

Image: Math.ucdavis.edu

-Famed minimalist artist CARL ANDRE:

Image: Annelyjudafineart.co.uk

Interesting and little-known Canadian art fact #4:

Sculptor WALTER REDINGER represented Canada at the 1972 Venice Biennale.

Walter Redinger Studio, 1971

This February, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MoCCA) in Toronto will mount an exhibitions of his work.

Roberta Smith, art critic of the New York Times, says “A weakness, of course, is that the beauty of these pieces does seem to be only skin deep; there isn’t enough beyond the pristine surfaces to hold the interest.”

Do you agree?

View his work HERE.